Conventional networked computers environments for deployment and migration of virtual servers with (SAN)-attached storage are set up as follows. A cluster of physical servers (PS) is configured such that each PS hosts multiple virtual machines, herein referred to as virtual servers (VSs). The VSs access the fiber channel (FC)-SAN-attached storage devices via host bus adapters (HBAs). The VSs are flexibly deployed on different PSs. These VSs are migrated among the PSs within the cluster. The PSs and storage controllers are connected via SANs. A SAN is made up of one, or more, FC switches. The PSs and storage controllers access a SAN by using HBAs. Each HBA has a world-wide unique port name (WWPN). The FC-SAN-attached storage devices are identified with logical unit numbers (LUNs).
Access to the storage devices is controlled via zoning and LUN masking. Zoning defines which ports are able to communicate, including the FC switch ports. LUN masking defines which HBAs can access a particular LUN. HBAs are identified according to their WWPNs.
In a VS environment, the HBAs are conventionally virtualized such that each HBA represents multiple virtual HBAs (vHBAs). Many HBA virtualization techniques exist, including: (i) single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) (an extension to the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) standard); (ii) many proprietary methods; and (iii) N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV). N_Port ID Virtualization is an FC facility allowing multiple N_Port IDs to share a single physical N_Port. This allows multiple FC initiators to occupy a single physical port, easing hardware requirements in SAN design, especially where virtual SANs are used.